To Each His Own
by mspink93
Summary: Only Sonny Munroe and Chad Dylan Cooper can have a conversation that starts with 'I hate you' and go all the way to a 'Will you marry me' .


**Hello, you beautiful people!!**

**This is somewhat of a Christmas Channy fanfic, only not so much lol. Let's just say that it has Christmas undertones to it, but the main story has basically nothing to do with the holiday.**

**Anyways, I hope you like it! Just a little idea that I came up with while trying to get to sleep one day. Also, I apologize for any typos.  
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**Disclaimer - I do not own SWAC**

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**To Each His Own**

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Sonny Munroe loved the holidays. It didn't matter what religion she was, she celebrated them all. Hanukkah, Diwali, Eid, she was always dressed up and having a party, even if it was only her and her mom. Of course, because Sonny was a Christian, her absolute favourite holiday of all time was Christmas. There was just something about the atmosphere around that time that warmed her heart. There was an air of happiness and grace that hung around all December, and Sonny just loved being caught in it.

This year, however, she wasn't in the Christmas spirit. This may have seemed a little odd to the public, because Sonny's life right now was practically flawless. She was one of the most popular actresses of her generation and she had the most amazing boyfriend – the one and only Chad Dylan Cooper. And truthfully, she had been completely excited for Christmas up until the night before...

Sonny's aunt and cousin had decided to come and visit her and her mother for Christmas this year, flying to Hollywood from Wisconsin and arriving on the 22nd of December. The two sisters had decided to catch up and go out for dinner, so her Aunt Natalie had asked Sonny if she could please babysit Bianca, to which Sonny had accepted.

The two cousins were playing on the floor of Sonny's apartment, the TV on in front of them, although no one was watching. Toy commercials were playing every five minutes, tantalizing any last minute shoppers who needed to get presents for Christmas Eve the next day. Bianca had brought her Play-Doh Ice Cream Shoppe toy all the way from Wisconsin, and the four-year-old had made Sonny a strawberry "ice cream" cone. The brunette comedienne was closely examining the pink substance, her face twisted in a disgusted grimace as she pulled a hair out of the "ice cream" swirl.

"Chaddy!"

"Bianca, Chad's not here right now," Sonny said, her eyes still fixed on the modelling clay. She viewed it from all different angles, deciding once and for all that it was clean enough to pretend to eat. Everyone in Sonny's family knew about her and Chad's relationship. Well, of course they had _found out _because of the paparazzi and the tabloids, but last Christmas, Sonny had taken him to meet all of her family back home in Wisconsin. Bianca especially had become extremely attached to the actor, claiming that his eyes were "the colour of my favourite crayon in the whole box".

"No, Sonny, Chaddy on the TV," Bianca said. She pointed to the TV screen with one hand while impatiently pushing her blonde bangs out of her hazel eyes with the other. "Look, Sonny! Chaddy's on TV!"

Sonny finally tore her eyes away from the toy and brought her gaze up to the news station that was playing on the television. There was a picture of Chad and a blonde girl in a jewellery store; their heads bend close together while they looked at something in the glass display case. The screen cut to another shot of the girl pointing something out, and then again, so that Sonny could clearly see Chad and the girl hugging, both of them with big smiles on their faces.

"What the - ," Sonny dropped the "ice cream" cone as she stared at the screen in shock. The pink Play-Doh rolled over the floor, getting stuck in the threads of Sonny's carpet. Bianca watched it rolling and clapped her hands, laughing loudly.

"Sonny, look! It made the carpet pink! Like magic!" she exclaimed. Her outburst caused Sonny to look down, and she groaned. Not only did she have to worry about her boyfriend cheating on her, but now she had to try and pry the sticky substance from her carpet. It was a long and tiring process, and she honestly just didn't have the energy for it now.

"Bianca, sweetie, can you please go and get a wet washcloth from the kitchen?" Sonny asked, getting on her hands and knees and crawling over to the mashed Play-Doh. She sat back on her heels and watched as her cousin hurried into the kitchen. Before the kitchen door swung shut, Sonny saw Bianca pick up the rag from on top of the counter. She heard the sink turn on, and she sighed in relief. At least she'd get to clean this mess up now.

The other she'd have to get to tomorrow. She had a feeling that it wouldn't be a very merry Christmas this year.

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No matter what Sonny did, she couldn't get those three pictures out of her head. While she was cleaning up the carpet, she kept imagining that the pink stain was the girl's head, and she rubbed harder and harder until the threads were bare of the substance. When she was washing up the dishes after dinner, she scrubbed the plates until she broke through the sponge, seeing the girl's face on every single plate. She woke up in the middle of the night multiple times; her nightmares still fresh in her memory. Every single one of them involved Chad and that girl shopping together at the mall, while Sonny just watched on, completely ignored.

Sonny didn't know who that girl was, but there was no denying that she was super model gorgeous. Her blonde hair was waist length and fell down her shoulders in soft, gentle waves. Her eyes were a fierce green, a colour which starkly stood out against her pale skin. She had high cheekbones, full, pouty lips, and whenever she smiled, a dimple appeared in her right cheek. She was the complete opposite – looks wise – of Sonny herself, and she couldn't help but feel threatened by her.

She also couldn't believe that Chad would cheat on her. In the whole three years that they had been dating, he had told her countless times how much he loved her. And Sonny had always believed him, telling him the same thing every time. How could someone who loved a person so much just leave them? Of course, Sonny knew the answer to _that_ question; her father was living proof. But still...she had never believed that it would happen to her.

These thoughts kept replaying in the twenty year old's mind as she drove to work the next day. She just wanted to forget this ever happened, at least for the time being. When she ran into Chad today, then she could think about this whole problem, but right now, she had to focus on her acting.

No sooner had this thought crossed her mind when a magazine was shoved unceremoniously underneath her nose. She had just stepped into her dressing room and only had enough time to drop her car keys on the table before her blonde cast mate – and best friend – had pushed the periodical into her face, the shine from the glossy cover giving her a headache.

"Did you see this?" Tawni demanded in a shrill voice. She pulled the magazine back away from Sonny and held it up. Her eyes fixed on Sonny's as she poked the cover with one long black fingernail. "Sonny, what is going on? You didn't tell me that you and Chad had broken up!"

Sonny collapsed on the leopard print Cleopatra – style couch and buried her face in one of the stray pillows. "Tawni, we didn't!" she cried, her voice muffled. The tears that she had been trying to hold back since the night before tumbled from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She hugged the pillow to her chest as she sobbed, and Tawni perched on the edge of the couch, occasionally patting Sonny on the back.

When Sonny had pulled herself together, she held her hand out for the magazine, waggling her fingers and shooting Tawni a look when she wouldn't hand it over. "Tawni, pass it. I just wanna see what the article says, that's all."

The blonde wouldn't budge, and Sonny forcefully pulled the magazine out of her grasp, wrinkling the cover in the process. She smoothed down the dog ear and bit her lip as she studied the cover. The same pictures that were on the news last night were gracing the magazine cover, underneath the headline "**CHAD DYLAN COOPER – CHEATING ON SONNY MUNROE!??"** It wasn't very original, but it got the message across. Sonny thumbed through the magazine until she found the page that she wanted.

"_CDC – A CHEATER?_

_Chad Dylan Cooper was spotted around town this weekend, surprisingly without long time girlfriend, Sonny Munroe. With him instead was a blonde beauty, and the two looked pretty chummy. Onlookers said that they kept laughing and joking, and even hugged once or twice. The most important part of this whole thing is that Channy haven't called it quits yet! Hollywood's Bad Boy, America's Most Hated Puppy Shover – is Chad Dylan Cooper ready to add Cheater to the list too?"_

As soon as Sonny read those words, she instantly wished that she hadn't. Her eyes welled up with tears again, and she dropped the magazine on the floor. Tawni smiled at her sadly from her place on the couch. "Oh, I told you not to read it."

Sonny wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffled. "No no. I'm glad I did. I think that me and Chad need to have a serious little chat. Sooner rather than later."

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At 11:30 on the dot, Sonny's doorbell rang. She took one last sip of hot chocolate before uncurling herself from the couch and setting her mug down on the table in front of her. She had invited Chad to her apartment so that they could talk, and even though 11:30 was a little too late for what she had had in mind, it was the only time that Chad could have made it. She didn't want to wait to do this tomorrow, not on Christmas Day. She wasn't about to break her own heart on the happiest day of the whole year, not if she could help it.

She opened the door and let him in without a word, instead walking away so that they stood on opposite sides of the room. When she turned around to face him again, she was surprised to see that he had followed her. He wrapped her in his arms and leaned down to kiss her, but she turned her head to the side and pulled away.

He looked at her quizzically; she had never rejected a kiss from him before. He swiped his dirty blonde hair from his eyes and peered down at her. "Sonny? Are you okay?"

She glared at him and stepped backward until there was a noticeable distance between the two stars. His brow furrowed in confusion, but he made no move to follow her, instead biting his lip as he studied the space between them. "Sonny?"

"Chad...please don't make this harder than it has to be," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. Ever since she had gotten home from work, Sonny's afternoon plans had alternated between crying her eyes out and feeling so angry that she could just punch something. At this exact moment, she was pretty sure that the former was taking over, and she didn't want that to happen. If Chad Dylan Cooper had the nerve to cheat on her, she wasn't going to let him see her cry.

Chad finally seemed to understand what she was doing, and his eyes darkened with hurt. "Sonny. Are you breaking up with me?"

She nodded, her brown ponytail bobbing.

"Why?"

"I saw the pictures, Chad. I saw them."

"What pictures?"

"Wh – the ones at the jewellery store, _Chad_!" she spit out his name as though it tasted foul in her mouth. "There were all over the news, all over the magazines. How did you think that you could get away with this?"

He blanched. "Y – you saw those?"

"Of course I saw those! How could you think that I wouldn't?"

"S-so you know?"

"Yes I know! How could you do that to me?"

"Sonny, let me – "

"How could you do that to me? You never really loved me, did you? How could you lie to me?"

"Sonny – " Once again, Chad tried to explain himself, but Sonny wouldn't listen. She stepped forward, jabbing her pointer finger at the open air. He instinctively stepped back, which only caused Sonny to take another step closer to him. He finally seemed to realize that it made no sense to try and explain, not when she was this upset, so he dropped his hands to his sides and just let her blow off all of her steam.

"Chad, you lied to me! You _lied _to me! I hate you! How can you do that?" she was crying now, her tears cascading down her cheeks like a waterfall. She pounded against his chest with her fists as she sobbed. Her knees buckled, but before she could fall to the ground, strong arms supported her and held her close.

"Sonny," Chad said softly, stroking her hair. "Shhh. Let me explain, please."

She buried her face against his chest. "How could you cheat on me, Chad?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

"I didn't. Sonny, I would never cheat on you, you should know that. That woman I was with at the jewellery store? That was my cousin, Andréa."

She looked up at him, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. These tears weren't of anger or sadness, though. These were tears of relief, relief that Chad hadn't cheated on her and relief that she didn't have to break up with him after all. "Your cousin?"

He nodded. "Yes. She was helping me pick out a ring for you."

"A ring?"

Chad suddenly looked nervous. "Umm, yeah, a ring. Well, this wasn't exactly how I had planned on doing this, but," he took a deep breath and got down on one knee while Sonny looked on, her hands flying to her throat. "Sonny Munroe...I love you. I love you so much, and I want to be with you for my entire life. Will you marry me?"

She buried her face in her hands and shook her head rapidly, trying to clear her thoughts. She had thought that Chad was cheating on her with the mysterious supermodel, and was going to break up with him, only to find out that the supermodel was his cousin, and she was helping him pick out an engagement ring for her?

Chad misunderstood and he got to his feet awkwardly. "Oh...alright then. I'll just leave, I guess. See you at work, Munroe." He started towards the door, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Chad, wait!"

He turned around and Sonny ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss. "I didn't mean no, I was just trying to clear my head," she explained when they had come up for air. "Yes, yes, yes I'll marry you! Of course I'll marry you! I love you!"

Chad pulled the ring out off his pocket once more and slid it onto Sonny's finger. He was just about to kiss her when something over her shoulder caught his eye, and the corner of his mouth twisted into the tiniest little smirk. "Hey, Sonny? Merry Christmas."

She whipped her head around and scanned the room with her eyes, trying to locate the clock. When she found it, she looked at the time and gasped, a smile playing at her lips. 12:03. It was officially Christmas morning.

"Merry Christmas Chad. I love you."

"I love you too. In fact, dare I say it, I love you more."

Sonny smiled and pulled him in for another kiss.

Maybe it would be a merry Christmas after all. So far, it had gotten to a pretty good start.

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**So....guess what? My school finished today! I am now officially on Christmas vacation....!!! **

**Oh, and please review! =D**


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